Doctor Who: Season 7 Preview (UPDATE)

It’s that time of year again! August is in full swing, and we’re only two weeksone weekweeks away from the next episode of Doctor Who. Though technically no official release date has been set, the popular bet at the moment is on a September 1 opening, and I agree. The BBC has been airing a series of specials titled “The (insert word) of Doctor Who” since August 4. They began with “The Science…” and will end with “The Destinations…” on August 25. It seems unlikely that the BBC would choose to air the start of Season 7 on the 25th as well, but hey, it’s the BBC. Stranger things have happened.

Either way, in a few weeks viewers will get their first glimpse at the results of the extended hiatus. If you haven’t followed Doctor Who much in the past, the season normally starts in March/April and finishes up in the late summer. This year the entire show was delayed in order to better overlap with the 50th Anniversary of Doctor Who occurring in 2013. A variety of the plans for that celebration have been hinted at, and I’ll cover those in another article.

Another purpose of the hiatus was to increase the scale of the Season 7 episodes. The word “epic” keeps popping up around the various BBC descriptions, and the latest released trailer seems to support that description. It’s been around for a little while, but if you haven’t seen it yet, then have a look:

It’s going to be a rip-roaring-stetson-wearing-anachronistic time all right. What you just saw here were clips of the five episodes leading up to the Christmas Special. There’s not a huge amount of material to examine, but a few things in particular piqued my interest.

Right around 00:30 The Doctor comes out with roughly this line: “Today I honor the victims [something], the Masters, the Daleks; all the people who died because of my mercy.” Couldn’t quite catch a small bit in the middle, but you get the idea. There’s been an overarching theme since the reboot in 2005 of “What happens when The Doctor is wrong?” Eccleston’s Doctor technically kicked this theme off with the appropriately titled “Dalek” episode in Season 1, but it wasn’t really returned to until the “Waters of Mars” special with Tennant (feel free to disagree). That theme has had an even greater presence since the handoff to Matt Smith (e.g. “The God Complex” in Season 6). The context of the above line and Amy’s immediate rebuke seem to strongly imply that this theme will be expanded on even further in the coming episodes. Ditto for The Doctor’s exchange with Rory around 1:13. An increasingly fallible, and perhaps marginally psychotic, Doctor could make for an extremely compelling storyline as we lead into the 50th anniversary.

Yes, I’m reading into a small amount of content tremendously. Yes, I still hope I’m right because I find the thought fascinating.

Switching tracks entirely, I have been increasingly happy with the overall style and quality of the series since 2005. This isn’t to say that it looked bad before, but you have to admit that the visuals have improved. I love the look of all the clips shown in the trailer, and with good reason. According to the BBC, Dinosaurs on a Spaceship “required one of the largest sets to date.” Who knew dinosaurs would require such large sets, eh? Thankfully this largess (puns…) extended to the CGI, as the shown creatures actually look surprisingly decent. Why do I say surprisingly? Go back and watch the Agatha Christie episode with Tennant.

Moving forward, Moffat has said this about A Town Called Mercy: “We knew from the start we’d need some serious locations shooting for this one, and given the most iconic American setting imaginable, there was only one place to go – Spain.” Goofy joke aside, it appears that all the stops have been pulled for the filming of these newest episodes.

Much more could be said about the trailer, but who wants to read a frame-by-frame analysis? So I’ll skip the apparent human working for the Daleks, the triceratops riding, the space-faring Argus Filch (sort of), and the-lady-I’ll-call-Cleopatra. My gut is saying that it’s going to be a good season. Oh, my gut is also saying that I’m going to absolutely hate the last episode thanks to this:

If something dangerous is made cuter, then it is automatically deadlier. With that bit of wisdom, I end my first post here and say “Hello!” to the readers of this site.

UPDATE

According to Doctor Who Spoilers, the release date has indeed been confirmed for September 1. Do note that the provided BBC link on that page is for a 5 Live radio interview with Moffat where he doesn’t actually mention anything about the premiere. I’m assuming that there’s another source link, and I’ll add it here once I track it down.

Eric graduated with a BA in English and a penchant for semi-obscure vocabulary (ask my students). He currently teaches English and Theatre at a small international school in Guatemala City. In between academic nuttiness he reads a great deal and writes things that some people care to read. Snarky writing aside, he is a huge fan of Doctor Who and a wide variety of other shows (including the not-precisely-sci-fi Downton Abbey).

Sadly, no. That said, there is a Q&A going on at the BBC via email with Moffat and Caro Skinner about Season 7. The entry deadline is today, so hopefully their answers will be up soon. I’m sure that more than one person has asked about the premiere date; perhaps we’ll get a response.

http://twitter.com/Thogar Tom Gardiner

Two things: Great review and welcome to TiBS! My wife & I have been Whovians since the early 80s & raised two more. It’s not as cool as a Gallifreyan, but I like to think of them as our “regenerations.”

I’m not a betting man, but if I were I’d place money on September 1 being the premiere date. Besides historical evidence for the start date, the fact that the BBC have Skinner as a guest tweeter tomorrow “bringing you the latest news as it emerges…” is another indicator that something’s being announced. She’ll be tweeting all day, not just during the BFI premiere of “Asylum of the Daleks” so with all that time to spit out information I’d say by this time tomorrow we’ll all be losing our fezzes over the confirmation of a date.

bmumble

“today, i honour the victims [first]…”

Eric Carey

I think you’re right, but I my ear keeps trying to convince me that there’s another word in there. It keeps eluding me…

Cae

I’ve got it! But, I have to explain the context. The clip doesn’t show that there is someone just behind the Doctor (I think it’s the guy a couple frames along – ordinary looking except for a black design along one side of his face). The word which is “eluding” you refers to the guy behind the Doctor…the line goes…

“Today, I honor the victims first! His, the Master’s, the Dalek’s…”

The “His” being referred to must be a bad guy on par with the others listed…

Eric Carey

Ha! I think you may be right. Nicely done.

Jon Skocik

Once again I have to point out that it’s not a reboot. Reboot implies wiping the slate, starting over, completely new, old stuff doesn’t count. Despite the idiocy of calling the 2005 season “series 1″ and continuing with those production codes, it’s made clear as early as “Dalek” that this is a continuation, not a reboot, when we see a 60s era Cyberman helmet. Then we seek K-9 and Sarah Jane Smith, all the incarnations of the Doctor starting with William Hartnell, a library card with Hartnell’s picture on it, etc. So it’s not a reboot. The show’s back after a hiatus, that’s all.

Eric Carey

Thanks for mentioning that, as it is a fair point. The “canon” (see Moffat’s opinion on there being an “official” canon) did indeed stay intact, but the the overall style definitely changed. Give then length of the hiatus between the original seasons and 2005, perhaps we can agree on a looser term like “refresh.”

Johnny Five

Well, last year, BBC and BBC America had the episodes on the same day, and BBC America doesn’t have it on its Aug 25th schedule. Also, Space in Canada has it on Sep 1. BBC could be getting it a week early, but, since they had same-day airings last year, it’s not unreasonable to think it will start up September 1.